Psalm 139 is a beautiful psalm of David.
The first few verses reflect on God's perfect knowledge of man:
O Lord You have searched me and know me,
You know my sitting down and my rising up,
You understand thoughts afar off,
You comprehend my path and my lying down
And are acquainted with all my ways.
You know it all together.
The last two verses are very interesting to me, as David writes:
Search me, O God, and know my heart.
Try me and know my anxieties,
And see if there is any wicked way in me,
And lead me in the way of understanding.
David describes, in the early verses, God's complete and thorough knowledge of him, in every way. Then at the end of the psalm, the verses invite God to search his heart, know his anxieties, and discover any wicked way, and lead him in the way of understanding.
The invitation to search his heart is not for God's discovery of things in David's heart. This is clear because in the previous verses David has made perfectly clear that God already knows every detail in his life ... there is no need for discovery, for God.
There is discovery needed for David. His invitation to 'search and reveal and lead' is that David be able to see and grow beyond the 'stuff' in his heart.
I join David in his prayer; God search my heart and life and show me areas that are not pleasing to You, and lead me in the way of understanding and change... to bring glory to You, and needed change to me.
• Louie Locke is pastor of The Fountainhead Foursquare Church in south Carson City and is a member of the Carson City Christian Ministerial Fellowship.